Category: Learning Journal

In this semester, I have used value framework in two subjects: Salon film, a traditional production house, and Lei Yue Mun Quarry, an abandoned land near the seafood market (the project of SD5018 Research and Analysis for Design).

The starting point is always the user. Matching the offerings to their needs and expectations and bringing pleasure and satisfaction, we enhance and create valuesduring the process. A good example of products changing users’ behavior is garbagesorting dustbin, which is non-rivalrous and non-excludable. It meets the users’motivation for dropping litters and environmental protection. Besides, it is sustainable and engaging interactions.

To enhance the organization value, Disneyland combined robot and dustbin to a talking trash can (picture 2), which was loved by kids. It matched the core value of the organization, which brought happiness to every visitor. People shared their experiences of talking to a dustbin in the theme park on the social media platforms, which attracted more people to come. Also, for the functional value, the dustbin could walk around which improved the cleaning effectiveness.

To create new value in the ecosystem and better solve the problems of garbage classification, there should be a long-term system with ongoing adaptation. All stakeholders should get value from it. Economically, companies and industries should make profits from the garbage classification, or they should get funding from the government. All users should have an awareness of the environment and get satisfaction by participating in recycling, which could be developed by education.

It is predictable that further achievement of value creation will bring benefits to the whole society and improve the quality of life for everyone.

The model is put forward to present the reflection and business transformation, and help us to understand the value in a changing landscape. In my point of view, it will be better used at enterprise and national level. It is unlikely to explain the value of business transformation to a manager form a small-sized company whose purpose is to generate profit. However, for someone who is ambitious to create industry revolution, it is a great tool to explain how value develops from a point to a constellation. Summarized from hundreds of paradigms, the table shows the essential progress of each stage. For the traditional industry, like the film production, people mindset is the critical factor to look at when creating the new business model. The needs of audiences changed following the trends of technological improvements, so the filmmakers are required to learn new skills and develop creativity. As the traditional revenues channels like TV ads and box office are declining, it is time to try new approaches. iQiyi in Mainland China released its first online movie, which has only been screened on the websites and mobile equipment. In this way, the movie has zero box office, but the company earns a good profit by charging the member fee to watch its new movie. Through the movie had less market impact, there was less investment of the movie description.

I have met stakeholder map in the previous projects; it was neither a stranger nor a friend with me. In the subject, we learn how to make the most of stakeholder map and how to develop it to interpret value flow model through lectures, readings and case studies.

To collect all stakeholders’ information, we will research the industries, visitthe websites, interview with core stakeholders, and do the site visiting. Fieldwork is necessary for the research since we sometimes miss the details and entering the environment will remind us.

To put all stakeholders in the right positions, we will sort out them by their functions. Besides, all groups will be set into internal or external, in which way we can easier find their importance on the project. The impact level is influenced by thestakeholders’ power and interest. One of the challenges to define the relationship is the complexity of the stakeholders’ impact level. Ongoing desk researches andinterviews will help. For example, whose opinions is the most important for the chairs selection in the school of design. We can easily find the users are students and teachers, but who is the buyer? Is the buyer the decision maker? Is the budget matter? All the questions put forward should be solved during the research, then we can make the stakeholder map.

To better analyze, we usually simplify the connections when the relationships are clear. There is no doubt that usually, the initial stakeholder map is in a mass with many lines. The least important groups are obviously in the diagram, the one that is connected with few lines. Also, we can combine stakeholders with similar functions.

We discussed the different transformation of value and the “function” of design thisweek. New terminologies have been introduced to us from the lectures and guest speeches. The concepts are a bit confusing to understand without cases.

When design enhances the product in a process, it adds value. Rocks are turned into iron, and the utility of iron is better than the utility of rocks, so smelting adds value. For the strategy of an online store, packaging, assembling, and delivering just in time add value. In most cases, design adding value to functionality, usability, and customer pleasure.

Creation is not equal to enhancement. It is to make something new where there was nothing before. The results can be new opportunities, new jobs, new capabilities and new products, even community wealth and welfare of the people. Good examples have been presented by Dr. Cees de Bont, from whom we knew what we would do in the future. Designers can contribute to new products, put forward new concepts and systems, interpret product specifications and create a new system. In my opinion, crowdfunding is an excellent example of value creation. It was a breakthrough in the process of raising money.

One of the reasons why it is challenging to make the design case for business is because the investments are often objective and quantifiable, which costs money and time, while the returns are subjective and qualitative, we get customer satisfaction. When we combine design and business, we are comparing different forms of value and develop a strategy to let design contributes.

Goods can be classified by their consumption rivalry and ability to exclude non- players. We have learned the classification of goods by their rivalry and excludability in the lecture. Diagram 3 presents the categories of goods. Food, clothing, and car are private goods that can be consumed by only one person and by payment. Fish in the open sea and public waterways are commons goods that can be consumed by only oneperson, but consumers don’t pay. Cable television and music in iTunes are low- congestion goods that consumers can only use it after payment, but they can be consumed by as many people as the technology allows. The fourth classification of goods is public goods, like the law and search engine, which are shared by many people and no one gets charged.

I am curious if there is an example can fit in all the four quadrants that are rivalrous/excludable, non-rivalrous/excludable, rivalrous/non-excludable and non- rivalrous/non-excludable. I haven’t found a specific good or service that can be in allcategories. However, in most situation, a system consists of all kinds of goods. For example, the hotel. People consumed the private room, public waterways, WIFI, beautiful view, sunshine, and many other kinds of offerings when living in it. To managing value creation, the hotel manager must put forward good ideas to organize all the resources and cost. Especially for the commons goods, it is changeling to control the use and transfer.

Accumulation of knowledge can be regarded as the economics of ideas, and the collection of information can be an important process of idea evaluation. We learned the theory of value in the lectures and the recommended readings. It consists of all the theories with the points of economics that attempt to explain the exchange value or price of goods and services. We have learned new growth theory from the lecture. The argument of the significance of the technology in economic processes is interesting. The roles that information and knowledge play in ideation and value creation are changing the competition: something new arises, and the old system will be replaced. As a designer, we should not neglect the technological improvements, since it may lead the industries revolutions. The updates of technology will inspire us, at the same time, we can make some assumptions about future trends according to the information. Also, it is interesting when we consider knowledge and information as our offerings, the products or services. For example, the platform which allows people to share videos is getting popular. The online tutorial platform and the live streaming videos platform have a large number of audiences than cinemas do. What these platforms provided is a new form of intangible value.

We did the discussion about different roles that we would meet in a project. Lectures gave us an example of an innovative machine for children; it was interesting that in this case, users, buyers and decision makers could be different. To better distinguish them and find the target group, we should think about the questions: Do they use it? Do they purchase it? Do they need further assistance? Do we have a business relationship? Users are the item used in design progress. Diagram 2 shows the differences between client, customer, and consumer.

Creative ideas come from nowhere; there are hundreds of ways to train people to be more creative. In my opinion, the most important thing is to use a good filter to find the proper ideas. Concepts were developed based on ideas, experiences, knowledge and information. Different tools will be used to help us. Strategies usually will be further developed to the business models and value systems. Diagram 1 was generated to describe their relationships. Pete Barry’s suggestion inspired me; he said: “Think now, design later.”